One photographer's season of content.

Tag Archives: sculptures

Goult is…. I know I sound like a broken record… or a skipping CD… absolutely beautiful. It is perched high on a hill. The chateau is outstanding. The views are a wowzer. The windmill on top is quaint and lovely. The streets are narrow and paved with cobblestones. It has a huge area for boules… under lights no less…. these guys are serious. Above all… Goult is loved by its residents. You can see it everywhere you look. First… take a stroll into the cemetery. That is right… the cemetery. It takes about thirty minutes to gather in all the past history of its previous residents. But what you will be staring at most of the time are the trees. Think topiary…. but on a huge geometric scale. Decades ago… someone who wanted to bring art into the cemetery… got out their clippers and started to shape the evergreens. Meticulously. It is amazing. Take a peek at the shot below.

Well… I said two reasons. Actually it is more like a dozen or so but… let’s go onto the second one for now.
When you are walking around town, you will begin to see sculptures made from wood and then lightly painted. Most are derived from a dead tree but not all. They are prevalent in Goult because the artist works in Goult. But… he is also represented in New York. The guy is a treasure. His name is Coucoune… and he learned his craft from his Grandfather… and still uses many of his tools. Since Coucoune is about 75… that would make the tools well over a hundred years old. And like a dutiful and admiring Grandson… he proudly displays the wooden shoes his Grandfather crafted for the local farmers at the turn of the century. Gulp.
The sculptures which are on display in his tiny showroom are intricate, imaginative and remind me of Michelangelo who pulled beauty from cold stone. Coucoune prefers dead wood. Another true Provencal artisan. Happy trails.